Thursday marked for 5 years since the death of the native of Alabama, the civil rights chairman John Lewis

Montgomery, Ala. (Wsfa) – Thursday marks five years since the death of the native Alabama and the former US representative John Lewis.

Lewis was born as the son of Sharecroppern in Pike County 1940.

At the age of 25, Lewis led hundreds of demonstrators in 1965 Bloody Sunday March About the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and was beaten by the police, having a broken skull.

He was elected to the congress for the first time in 1986. He represented Georgia's 5th congress district until his death in 2020 after a fight against pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old.

Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell spoke on the house floor on Monday to honor the late civil rights icon.

In her speech, Sewell remembered Lewis. Final visit After Selma in 2020 to the 55th commemoration of the bloody Sunday.

“” Never give up. Never give in. Keep the faith and keep the price. “His body was frail and affected by cancer, but his spirit was sharp and his charges were clear to us,” she said.

Lewis told the crowd on March that he “goes into good difficulties, necessary difficulties and redeemed the soul of America”, since the 2020 presidential elections were on the horizon.

“Good problems live on” Protests are planned nationwide on Thursday.

You don't read this story in the WSFA News app? Get message warnings faster and free of charge in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!

Copyright 2025 WSFA. All rights reserved.